Master Gardener

Congratulations to the newest master gardener, Mike, who completed his course at the top of his class. He is showing his skill in the flower gardens around the house, adjacent to the farm. What a perfect complement he is to the farmer. Lucky me.

A page from a farmers diary

 

8:00 AM First stop a dump date to pick up mulch. The first 100 pounds per car are free; then it costs one and 1/2 cents a pound. This was great mulch..see all the worms in the shovel. Already the day is off to a good start.

 

9:00 AM Go to Hallockville and see the sheep get sheared for wool and coo over the babies nursing.

10:00 ish Bring mulch home and do rounds on the garden. Oh no..trouble in the nursery. Eggplants, zucchini, peppers and cucumbers not looking healthy. The broccoli is iffy..some of it looks great;some have yellow droopy leaves. So it is off to Sang Lee and Trimbles for replacement plants. I will also plant some Asian vegetables from seeds from Eddie Lin (Mike's Chinese cooking teacher and friend).

Noonish I pick some berries..we only had about a dozen and supplement them with some from Sang Lee. They will be for lunch, while Mike shucks the oysters from our own babies that grew at Cornell. They are huge and fabulous with just some lemon added.

                                                                                  

Lunch is fabulous on a glorious day. Being a farmer can be tough, but one can get used to it very quickly.  A quick update on the bees I was hoping to get. I met with Laura, the bee lady, and she said we do not qualify because we are so close to the water. The saltier air is not good for the bees, and our location is very windy. Both these conditions will cause the bees to fortify their hives with some kind of sticky substance, making the hives harder to access, and decreasing honey production.                                                                                                                                                                                             I have a question to ponder...what is the difference between a farmer and a really expansive gardener?

Lots of growth....

 

The garden is fully planted and growing well. The beans and snap peas are huge, as are the potato plants. A few of the broccoli are being nibbled and the bok choi doesn't look well. The beets are also doing well and will have to be separated soon as they are quite crowded. The tomatoes are being staked around brightly colored spirals. I am waiting to assess how well this works.

The herb garden also thrives. The coriander, which reseeded itself from last year, has turned into a bush, and the sage and oregano seem to be in a race as to who can take over the garden. The oregano is winning.       We are watering two times a day for an hour each , with the drip system...so far so good.                                                                                                                                                     

Our salads are plentiful, and all in all I think we have a good start. Oh yes, one sad note..the sweet potatoes don't seem to have madeit. I am not sure why and will call Johnny's on Monday.

    

     

Help Wanted

It is hard to find time to blog when my hundreds of infants need attention. They are too hot; they are too cold. They need to harden..whine whine whine. They need to watch the geese babies out there swimming-no complaints from them and they are younger than the plants.

So here is the update-zucchini, cucumber, patty pan squash,and brussel sprout seeds where all planted. None of them are in their original rows, because Mr. Greenjeans, an amoral almost master gardener broke into the garden late one night and planted squash all over the place, upsetting the carefully organized garden. There is a warrant for his arrest and his picture is posted in Agway. The chili plant is planted outside, with a drip hose coming through the bottom of the pot. It is rumored that the aforementioned Mr. Greenjeans is a drip installer by day.

Eggplant and Pepper plants were planted on May 5 after 2ish days of hardening..they seemed tough enough to take it, and broccoflower, cauliflower, broccoli, and herbs except basil. Lavender went into the herb garden, a special kind that deer hate. I overheard this conversation just the other day.

One deer to another:
 "Hey family , look the grocery store is back across the creek."
" Oh yuck, they have the kind of lavender we hate..let's go to King Kullen instead."

So here all all the goodies, with lots of garlic in the first rectangle, to ward off all evil.